100+ Educators sign petition to Fund California’s Public University System through New Sources of Tax Revenue

A growing list of 113 faculty from across the state have signed a petition calling upon UC Board of Regents to unequivocally support new sources of tax revenue in CA to put an end to budget cuts and are supporting the November 9th and 16th week of action.

We, the undersigned University of California faculty, urge education leaders and policy-makers in California to support equitable and sustainable solutions to California’s budget crisis. The public university system in California has been regarded as one of the most innovative, productive, and accessible university systems in the entire world. As beneficiaries of this system, we believe it is our responsibility to ourselves, to our students, and to the citizens of California to protect the integrity of this institution.

Since 2009, the state has cut approximately $17 billion from public education, and is considering enacting another $2.5 billion in new “trigger cuts” in the coming months. To cover revenue losses, education leaders and policy-makers have placed the burden on one of our most vulnerable populations, our students. Student “fees” at the University of California have tripled since the 2000-2001 academic year. And at the September UC Board of Regents meeting, the Regents declared that it would once again need to raise fees another 16% per year over the next four years to cover expected losses in state support. The result would be that the 2011-2012 freshman class would pay approximately $22,000 in fees during their senior year (2014-15), on pace to be well above the national average for public higher education. And while the cost of a higher education has climbed upward, the value of education has declined: writing and tutoring centers, library resources, class availability, and resources for instructors have suffered significant losses. All this comes at a time of stagnant returnsto receiving a post-secondary education in the form of job market prospects.

This system is inequitable andunsustainable. We endorse the student-led November 9ththrough 16th “Week of Action” asking members of the UC Board of Regents to unequivocally support new sources of tax revenue in CA to put an end to budget cuts.

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ABOUT US: ReFUND California is a coalition of organizations throughout California committed to exposing the unfairness of the state’s current economic reality and engaging in public campaigns to force the changes that are necessary.